A feisty cat fight will be fought as the Tigers duke it out with the Panthers at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Last Friday, Pickerington Central didn't have too much trouble with Teays Valley as they won 77-59. Given the Tigers' advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 118th, while the Vikings are ranked 534th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Meanwhile, Pickerington North had already won nine in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 11.7 points) and they went ahead and made it ten on Friday. They blew past the Eagles, posting a 58-23 win. 58 seems to be a good number for the Panthers as the team scooped up a victory with the same number of points in their previous game.
Pickerington Central better focus on containing Arness Lawson and Jr Bates as the pair were huge in Pickerington North's win. Lawson went 7-for-11 en route to 15 points and eight rebounds, while Bates went 6-for-10 on his way to 15 points along with seven boards and five assists. Lawson is also on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in each of the last 12 games he's played. Another player making a difference was Favor McFadden, who went 5-for-6 to rack up 13 points.
Pickerington North smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in 31 consecutive games dating back to last season.
Pickerington Central is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last eight matches, which provided a nice bump to their 11-9 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 66.0 points over those games. As for Pickerington North, they pushed their record up to 17-3 with the win, which was their fifth straight at home.
Pickerington Central came out on top in a nail-biter against Pickerington North in their previous matchup back in February of 2024, sneaking past 45-42. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was McFadden, who dropped a double-double with 23 points and 11 boards. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Pickerington Central still be able to contain McFadden? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
